WRITING ADVICE: Short Stories – Advice and Observation #38: “Agatha Christie & Me”

In this series, I’m going to use advice from people who, in addition to writing novels, have also spent plenty of time “interning” with short stories. While most of them are speculative fiction writers, I’ll also be looking at plain, old, effective short story writers. I’m going to use advice from people who, in addition to writing novels, have also spent plenty of time “interning” with short stories. The advice will be in the form of one or several quotes off of which I’ll jump and connect to my own writing experience. While I don’t write full-time, nor do I make enough money with my writing to live off of it...neither do most of the professional writers...someone pays for and publishes ten percent of what I write. When I started this blog, that was NOT true, so I may have reached a point where my own advice is reasonably good. We shall see as I work to increase my writing output and sales! As always, your comments are welcome! For example, “Agatha Christie was a prolific short story writer. She wrote 153 short stories collected in 14 original books, (and also wrote 66 detective novels) featuring famous sleuths like Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. So, without further ado, short story observations by Agatha Christie – with a few from myself...)

Christie's work has sold more copies than both Shakespeare and the traditional King James Bible. She DID write GREAT WORKS that had a profound impact on the mystery genre in the English-speaking world. But she also wrote lots of short stories. But what did she have to say about WRITING them?

1. Start Your Plot
“There is always, of course, that terrible three weeks…when you are trying to get started on a [book] story. There is no agony like it.”

2. Let Your Plot Develop
“Christie found her ideas by letting her mind run wild while she was busy doing other things.” It’s NOT new or unique. It’s ALSO fun!

3. Use What Interests YOU
Christie had MANY interests: medicine, archaeology, card playing, psychic stuff, her dog, world travel, nature, and just living life to its fullest. I love science, science fiction, camping, biking, and the culture of the schools I’ve worked in, plus other countries I’ve been to. All of these can help your plot.

4. Plot Your Character’s Flaws
We ALL like to read about characters like US – except THEY can do things we can’t! Christie created one of the greatest fictional detectives of all time. This did not mean she liked Hercule Poirot! Develop your character’s background, flaws, sharp edges, and history...even though the reader might NEVER see these.

5. Plotting Characters & Their Potential
Christie once wrote that “In everyone there arises from time to time the wish to kill, though almost NEVER the will to kill.” I use my writing skills to create “monsters”, aliens, and then TONS of stress, and suspense to drive every story. Christie embraced the “dark side” of people by using her knowledge of psychology.

6. LET Cause & Effect Drive Your Plot
“To get at the cause for a thing, we have to study what happened.” Two of the most important questions for a fiction writer. ‘What if?’ leads to the WHY. ‘What happens next?’ is important for the WHAT HAPPENS. That’s cause and effect at work. If this happens, what will happen next? OUTLINE YOUR STORY! Writers can expect to spend hours alone while plotting, writing, and editing. Some writers prefer to share the task; others like Christie liked to plot alone?

FINALLY.
Mastering plot is not easy, but Christie shows that great storytelling comes down to precision, misdirection, and careful planning. Whether you’re crafting a complex mystery or simply trying to keep readers turning the pages, these tips offer a timeless blueprint for success. Use them to deepen suspense and deliver endings your readers will never see coming.

References: https://anarrativeoftheirown.substack.com/p/writing-rituals-of-agatha-christie, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUBdgv38SF4,  https://www.agathachristie.com/about-christie/how-christie-wrote, https://www.reddit.com/r/agathachristie/comments/1asnltb/what_are_the_short_agatha_books/
Image: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhK6miXJMTMNyB3kzq-r6I2LVCTZJj0CDS0dPV2Qapl6e9rZPuHx2u5QKcKT1QGeDg1_tPMv-lpnuSr_eiBjwPXmex9mcgtuH2-SUtZEpGWV0_HdtJQelVt5K69NulJBUqNju5GNjHgQibXsIo4NeWpTOj4ai85jCRjMHOtwtkqshzxFvZPUSjXZNq6=s320

CREATING ALIEN ALIENS Part 44: UNBELIEVABLE Aliens

Five decades ago, I started my college career with the intent of becoming a marine biologist. I found out I had to get a BS in biology before I could even begin work on MARINE biology; especially because there WEREN'T any marine biology programs in Minnesota.
Along the way, the science fiction stories I'd been writing since I was 13 began to grow more believable. With my BS in biology and a fascination with genetics, I started to use more science in my fiction.
After reading hard SF for the past 50 years, and writing hard SF successfully for the past 20, I've started to dig deeper into what it takes to create realistic alien life forms. In the following series, I'll be sharing some of what I've learned. I've had some of those stories published, some not...I teach a class to GT young people every summer called ALIEN WORLDS. I've learned a lot preparing for that class for the past 25 years...so...I have the opportunity to share with you what I've learned thus far. Take what you can use, leave the rest. Let me know what YOU'VE learned. Without further ado...

What alien was THE MOST UNBELIEVABLE you ever forced yourself to watch (even for a few moments, just to see what would happen)?

Apparently, people LOVE playing with the idea of aliens! Following that, my opinion will be the one I’m expressing here because there doesn’t seem to be a clear consensus about the WORST alien ever presented to an audience.

For me, ET seems the most absurd. First of all, I’ll remind you that I started my teaching career as a science teacher. I’ve done ALL of them in elementary, middle school, and high school – except for Honors Physics. My science is pretty solid, so I feel comfortable saying that for trying to be something terrifying, ET is absurd. First and foremost, it would never have lasted long enough on its homeworld to even BEGIN evolution! (Don’t get me wrong, if God wanted to create any life form they wanted to, they could have done so. ET, here I come!)

BUT, given that public school science eschews Divine Creation, the creature that the movie depicts as not ONLY intelligent, but smart enough to invent, design, build, and fly a starship that skip Normal space with impunity and (obviously) and fly from their home world to numerous other planets.

The problem is that I don’t see how they could possibly survive the early stages of evolution. They can’t run, for heaven’s sake! Their neck could snap in the event of a hard fall; a trip; or a stiff breeze!

Look at ET’s fingers for heaven’s sake: I assume for lack of evidence otherwise, that ET is the lifeform on their planet that invented a star drive capable of propelling them through some kind of alternative space that doesn’t require travelling slower than the speed of light – which would mean it would take tens, hundreds, or thousands of years to make it to Earth. That requires some kind of science to create a technology, and technology is notoriously fickle and would require tools that were smaller than ET’s fingers…

I’ll grant eyes so large they make adult Humans swoon and cause children to place implicit trust in a creature who’d traveled some incredible number of light years to reach them. ET is also intelligent enough to make sense of colloquial English, as well. Linguist? OK, I’ll grant it. But logical? Realistic? Sorry – the biology just doesn’t carry it believably for me. Granted: I hardly look like the end result of intelligent Humans who first escaped being eaten enough times to have lots of kid; who then started tinkering with science and technology; and who recently (finally) returned Humans to orbit the Moon and who have had a sustained presence outside of Earth’s atmosphere for 27 years.

But supposedly, ET is some sort of scientist; an explorer; and granted he has psychic powers that allow him to lift things and fly them by sheer power of mind…

But as a fictional alien? Sorry, I’m believing that our REAL First Contact will introduce us to aliens who are at least as intelligent as the smartest Humans…

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E.T._the_Extra-Terrestrial, https://www.reddit.com/r/FIlm/comments/1k9xtml/hot_take_i_hate_et_its_antiscience_trash/ Image: https://www.savannahnow.com/gcdn/authoring/2013/06/26/NSMN/ghows-GA-1525da98-72f7-4b22-8bdb-9522cdabe259-0091e7b9.jpeg?width=660&height=587&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp

IDEA ON TUESDAY 711

Each Tuesday, rather than a POSSIBLY IRRITATING ESSAY, I'd like to both challenge you and lend a helping hand. I generate more speculative and teen story ideas than I can ever use. My family rolls its collective eyes when I say, "Hang on a second! I just have to write down this idea..." Here, I'll include the initial inspiration (quote, website, podcast, etc.) and then a thought or two that came to mind. These will simply be seeds -- plant, nurture, fertilize, chemically treat, irradiate, test or stress them as you see fit. I only ask if you let me know if anything comes of them. Regarding horror, I found this insight in line with WIRED FOR STORY: “ We seek out…stories which give us a place to put our fears…Stories that frighten us or unsettle us - not just horror stories, but ones that make us uncomfortable or that strike a chord somewhere deep inside - give us the means to explore the things that scare us…” – Lou Morgan (The Guardian)

H Trope: apocalyptic diary/journal/log
Event: http://news.discovery.com/earth/oceans/lost-continent-discovered-beneath-indian-ocean-130225.htm

Andrianampoinimerinatompokoindrindra Zehrezgi – who preferred to go by Andri Zee – tried to keep his last meal down as the boat rocked beneath his feet.

“Isn’t this exhilarating?” exclaimed Shamma Maslah.

“When do you think the hurricane is going to stop?” he asked.

Shamma burst out laughing. “There’s no hurricane! In fact this is the calmest day I’ve seen since we were out here.” She glanced at him and went to the railing and said, “If you don’t like the ocean, why’d you come out here?”

“This site is within the waters of my country.”

She made a face, saying, “I didn’t know you had a country. Not how you talk about it anyway.”

“Madagascar is my homeland!” She grunted and leaned over the rail, looking deeply into the water. “Watch out!” he cried, stepping forward, arm outstretched.

She looked at him and laughed, “What? It scares you when I lean out this far?” she said, leaning back over the railing. Suddenly the water below her grew dark and began to bubble, gently at first, then wildly. Water geysered into the air. She screamed and staggered backward, into Andri Zee’s arms and they watched in horror as...

A fluorescent orange conning tower surged out of the water, sluicing aside until the hatch on top opened up and a young lady waved at them.

Shamma shouted, “Laura! What’s going on?”

Laura shouted back, “You won’t believe what we discovered! Not only is Mauritia a sunken island – there was some sort of sealed chamber there!”

“What?” Andri exclaimed. Majoring in archaeology, THIS is what he’d come for! “Where is it?”

“They had to send down the big sub and they’re bringing up the entire chamber right now.”

Shamma looked at Andri then Liz, bobbing in the conning tower of the sub and shouted, “The time is all wrong! Mauritia sank when the dinosaurs died. There shouldn’t be anything there.”

Liz shrugged, “I don’t know about when it sank or what should and shouldn’t be there, but there’s something big and it looks like it was sealed. See you in a bit!”

*

They rendezvoused at the small sub dock. The massive winch from the ship platform had lifted a barnacled encrusted, roughly cubic case into the air and was swinging it over the helipad, where it lowered the box down.

The metal groaned as the cables above relaxed. Andri said, “It’s heavier than it looks.”

“Way heavier,” said Liz.

Shamma frowned. There was something about it. Something strange. Despite the noise around her, she could hear…not exactly hear…sense? Feel? She wasn’t sure. Something. The hot sun of the Indian Ocean beat down on the head of the crew. Men and women in trunks and halters scampered around the deck, disconnecting chains, cables, hosing down the object. SCUBA divers were lifting up from the waterline; heavy metal music abruptly blared from the deck speakers and the recovery work began in a part atmosphere.

Shamma found a spot, out of the way. Her work on the project was cataloging and identifying life forms; part of a survey team that had set out to begin to quantify the anecdotal evidence that the oceans were beginning to recover now that the world population had precipitously fallen during the H7N9 Pandemic of 2038-2042. With over two billion people dead, the Earth seemed empty now. It scared her sometimes. Abruptly, a migraine assaulted her. It had been years since she had one.

That was when heard a voice, speaking in Olde English. She only caught the first few words, vaguely familiar, but somehow wrong as well, “In the beginning, I created this earth to inhabit heaven...” The migraine became blinding and with a squeak, she passed out.

Names: ♀ UAE, Somolian; ♂ Madagascar, Ethiopian; ♀ Hebrew (diminutive of “Elizabeth”)
Image: https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51niGRrH6DL.jpg